"You what?" Lisa says looking at us shocked and disappointed... "Why... Why... Why would you guys do that..." She says looking so sad... "I cant believe you two... Why on earth would you get married without inviting anyone... I Just can't believe you two... Why... Just why..." She says waving her hands in the air out of frustration and i dont know what to say... She doesnt let us get a word in...
"Ava...? Chris...?" We hear a soft scared voice and Jack is standing in the doorway of the kitchen... The sound of Jack's voice makes Lisa spin around and she looks at the little boy with even more confusion on her face... I walk over to Jack hugging him and lifting him up... "Hey sweetheart did you wake up from your nap?" I ask and i walk back over to Chris and Jack nods. "Ma this is Jack..." Chris says wrapping his arm around us both as Lisa looks stunned at us with the little boy in my arms...
"Jack?" She says and i nod and smile... "Hi Jack..." She says waving at him still stunned... "Hi..." He says before burying his head in my neck... "We are fostering him... He was one of the kids we met when we were in the hospital for Christophers Haven..." Chris says. "Foster?" Lisa says as if she has no clue what we mean with that... But all of a sudden it is like it clicks in Lisa's head... "And they prefer married couples..." Lisa whispers and i nod blushing a little... Lisa tears up... "Come on bud... Let's get you dressed..." Chris says taking him out of my arms and he walks upstairs...
"I am sorry Lisa... We didn't do it to upset you neither did it because we didnt want anyone there... Everything just went so quick... We met him in the hospital the day we went to surprise the kids... It was so sad... He was sitting in his hospital bed looking so sad... He didn't want to participate in the activities. But something drew me to him... He was clutching this picture of his mom... It was the only thing he still had of her... He was so scared that someone would take it away... I sat with him for a while... I promised to restore his picture... He opened up a little... We went back the next day to bring him the new picture and it broke me... He was all alone... Other than the nurses and doctors nobody cared... He had nobody to hold his hand... The social worker only came by to sign off on procedures... I couldn't get him off my mind... We didn't know it from each other, but neither could Chris..." I say taking a deep breath as Lisa just listens.
"I went to visit him a few more times... I hated leaving him there... Chris and i talked about it after i had a little breakdown because it hurt so much to leave him in that hospital room all alone. We talked and got the process started which went way faster than expected... We are still going to have a wedding, but it was the only stipulation the social worker had because apparently being Chris Evans and being financially blessed makes everything way easier..." I said and Lisa chuckled...
"The social worker practically threw him at us happy to get rid of the burden... I mean she didn't even know his name and the way she talked about him like he was just some business an object that was a pain in her... Well, you get what i am saying... Please... Please... Give Jack a chance... We love him... We both loved him from the first time we talked to him in the hospital... He is such a sweet boy... We are fostering him for now but when he is ready, and we are allowed we plan on adopting him..." I rant as i am scared she is mad...
"Ava... Ava... Ava... Sweetheart breathe..." She says and pulls me in her arms hugging me tightly. "I dont care were my grandkids come from... I am not mad and of course i will accept him... Are you kidding me... I am a grandma again..." She whispers with teary eyes but a big smile on her face and i start to cry holding onto her... "Thank you..." I whisper and we pull apart... She wipes away my tears... "I was just in a bit of shock..." She says and i chuckle and nod... "I know it is a lot to take in... It is a big change. It was not something we had planned on doing so soon... You know start a family... We had the kids talk but then Jack came along... I just couldn't let him be alone any longer... He deserves the world..." I whisper and Lisa smiles... "Well that it is a big change is the understatement of the year, but it is a good change..." She whispers and hugs me again...
"How sick is he?" She asks and i sigh... "He is healthy for now... He was staying in the hospital for his after care as no one was willing to take him on because he had been sick... We have to have regular checkups but for now he just needs to get stronger... He is too small for his age... He is 8... But we dont know what the future holds..." I say and Lisa looks at me shocked... "Where are his bio parents...?" She asks and i shake my head...
"Mom died... Like i said the only thing he had of her was a warn photograph. I restored it for him... We hung it on the wall at the stairs together... Dad is unknown..." I say and she sighs... "Poor kid... Only 8 years old and gone through so much..." She whispers and i nod... "There is one other thing..." I say and she looks at me... "We dont want to push him with the family rolls... We dont want to force him to call me mom, or call Chris dad... So, we dont want to force him to call you grandma... I hope you understand... We want him to feel comfortable and have it come when he is ready and if he never is going to be ready that is okay to..." I say holding my breath hoping she would understand. She nods and smiles... "I understand sweetie it has to be on his terms and pace..." She says and i let out a sigh of relief.
Chris walks in with Jack on his arm and Lisa's face lights up... "Hello sweetheart..." She says slowly approaching him and i smile as he looks at her... "My name is Lisa... I am Chris his mom... What is your name?" She asks him and he gives her a little shy smile... "Jack..." He whispers and he holds up the stuffed dog... "I picked this..." He says and i smile... "You did well that is an excellent choice... What is his name?" She says and he smiles proudly... "Her name is Maggie..." He whispers and i slap my hand over my mouth to not start sobbing as i know it his mom's name... He gains some confidence and Chris puts him down... "Chris picked Legos for me..." He says and i tear up as he takes Lisa's hand and pulls her to the living room to show her his Legos...
Chris walks over to me and wraps me in his arms as we watch them from the kitchen... "See told you..." Chris says and i nod tearing up a little... "Shit i am crying again..." I mumble and he chuckles... "It is okay angel... It is all emotional..." He whispers and i hug him tighter... "He named the dog after his mother..." I whisper and Chris smiles... "That is a good thing angel... It means that he feels comfortable around us to talk about her... To heal..." He whispers and i nod.
"You are nice just like Ava said..." We hear Jack say to Lisa and Chris and i both chuckle as Lisa looks at him... "Well thank you..." Lisa says looking over to us and i blush. "Well i think Ava is really nice to... And i am so lucky she is part of our family..." She says and Jack smiles and i blush even more...
We walk into the living room and watch Lisa play with Jack... "Jack, do you want a snack...?" I ask him and he face lights up and he nods... "Okay let's go to the kitchen..." I say and i stand up holding out my hand and Jack jumps up and takes my hand and we leave Chris and Lisa to talk for a bit...
"Okay you can pick... Do you want and apple... Or and orange... Or a banana..." I say and he smiles... "Apple..." He says and i smile and cut it up for him putting it on a plate before sitting him down at the counter... "I like apples..." He says with the biggest smile as he takes a bite and i smile back at him... I watch him eat before looking up and i see Lisa and Chris hug... I chuckle as she is squeezing his cheeks in a motherly way... I pour Jack something to drink with his snack before i pull stuff out the fridge for dinner...
"You are going to cook again?" Jack asks surprised and i nod... "Yes sweetheart... I am going to cook almost every night..." I say and he looks at me as if i am saying something incredibly strange... "We will have dinner as a family whenever we can..." I say and Chris and Lisa walk back in... "Ava is making dinner again..." Jack says and Chris nods... "Yes bud... Do you like your apple?" He asks and Jack nods and smile and Lisa walks over to me...
"Can i help with something?" She asks and i smile and nod... I just look around me so happy as it feels so nice... Lisa and i are cooking dinner as Jack and Chris go back to play with the Legos after he finished his snack...
